Children Once Again
by BananaGirl101
Summary: When Mistress Broomhead and Agatha team up and turn the teachers back into teenagers, how will Cackle's survive? Please read and review. All reviews are read, and questions get responded to. Currently being rewritten.
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's note: This was my first ever FanFiction and I've read it and noticed how short it is, so I've decided to rewrite it and add more. It is set just after Alarms and Diversions._**

It was the 8th day of the school year, January 12th. Mildred stood looking out of her bedroom window, the winter sun blinding her vision. So far, everything was going right. Well, almost. She had had her designer earrings confiscated, dropped a bucket of ice-cold water on the head of HB and she had a first year now following her around like a lost kitten. And that first year was Ethel's sister, which made the whole situation a whole lot worse.

Ethel had been a lot worse this year, ever since Mildred had saved Sybil from the tornado. In fact, Ethel had become even meaner when Jadu had insulted her nose. Mildred couldn't help but giggle when she remembered that.

Looking at the clock carelessly abandoned on her bedside table, along with lots of half-finished drawings of Tabby, it occurred to Mildred that she'd missed dinner. "Oh well," Mildred thought, "I don't like the beef stew anyway. I can cope with an angrier than usual HB."

* * *

Constance Hardbroom was not in a good mood. Mrs Tapioca had already came running over to her as she had a spare portion of food, food that had not be collected. Constance was aware that school meals were inedible, and that even managing to swallow the food was a challenge that the best witch would struggle with. Scanning the room like a hawk, Constance had noticed a spare seat, an empty seat, a seat where a girl with messy hair and a scruffy tabby cat sat. She folded her arms and transferred to the staffroom, well aware that the girls would just simply believe she'd turned herself invisible.

* * *

"Calm down," Amelia said to her deputy, who looked like she was about to breakdown over Mildred not eating her dinner. Constance sent Amelia a look of confusion, disgust and disapproval. No one had ever told her to calm down, and hearing the words together was like a foreign language.

"Miss Hardbroom, calm down? You must be joking!" Imogen chuckled, not aware that her thoughts had been said out loud. Before she could mutter a simple apology, a spell had hit her in the face, temporarily removing her voice. Davina sat on her chair chuckling at Imogen, who was unaware of the spell taking place.

A loud hubbub of noisy girls filled the staffroom. Constance looked through the open door, and saw Fenella and Griselda wonder past, clearly plotting chaos. Amelia's eyes followed Constance's, and she knew instantly what her deputy was thinking.

"Don't follow them Constance. If they want to cause chaos at Cackles, let them. It's their job of finding another school," Amelia said.

Imogen breathed in deeply, as the spell had worn off. Sending Constance a death stare, she exited the room, as it was her night on Dorm Duty.

* * *

There was a cool breeze in the air. Everywhere was silent. _Almost._ A broomstick shaped like a banana came rushing through the window, throwing it's rider to the floor with an almighty thud. Mildred Hubble rubbed the back of her head, carefully taking in her surroundings. She gulped. Fears slowly crawled in as she realised her location. _Miss Cackle's_ **_LOCKED_** _office._ She chewed the ends of her nails. No one had ever taught her an _Unlocking Spell._ It was just her luck to land in Miss Cackle's Office. Wondering what Miss Hardbroom would do to her, Mildred dragged herself to a lighter corner and lay down. She knew that night was going to be an extremely long night...

* * *

Amelia couldn't sleep. She just couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible. Agatha had asked to visit her. She'd offered to fly out to her, but she insisted as Amelia was the elder sister not to put any more pressure on her. A small tear licked her cheek.

She'd desperately wanted to ask Constance for advice on the situation, as she feared it was a trick from Agatha , and that Agatha would try and take over again. She'd gotten so close to telling Constance the truth, when Constance had asked what was wrong. So very close. But then it occurred to her that that was selfish. She was well aware that Constance had her own things to worry about, and that Constance would insist on putting protective spells all over the castle, which meant more work for Constance and an excuse for her to use _Wide Awake Potion._ Constance didn't like people telling her that she was addicted to it, and when asked, she'd deny it, but Amelia knew that Constance was well aware of how she'd struggle to live without it.

Taking a educated guess, Amelia presumed that Constance already knew about Agatha's visit. Desperate to voice her concerns out loud, she called Constance in her mind, desperately hoping that Constance was stalking the dark corridors silently, looking for a brave, mischievous pupil to clean the Potions Lab. Constance didn't reply, nor did it feel like she was in Amelia's mind. Angry at herself for trying, Amelia walked out of the room, forgetting the key to her office. Maybe she could read the growing pile of letters on her desk.

* * *

Constance _had_ heard Amelia call her. She'd chosen to ignore her. She was outside Amelia's Office, listening to the dream coming from inside. It was about a small, scruffy tabby cat. His owner had messy plats and undone bootlaces and was over the moon because her cat had managed to not only sit on the broom, but fly comfortably without screeching. Constance fiddled with the button on her purple pajamas, desperate to get in. Her keys were in her room.

"You alright Constance?" asked a voice, clearly confused to why the younger woman was standing there. Constance jumped at the familar voice. She'd never been good with the dark, and if she hadn't recognised the voice she'd have been sending sparks everywhere, while becoming invisible.

"Yes Miss Cackle. I do not suppose that you know why Mildred Hubble is in your office fast asleep, do you?" inquired Constance, her pupils burning brightly with impatience.

"Mildred? How do you know?" Miss Cackle said, keeping her face straight, intrigued to why this was bothering her deputy.

"I can..." Constance said, but her concentration was knocked. Something far more important had caught her attention.

She quickly materlised in front of the window and pushed the shutters open. Red sparks flew out her fingers, as she quickly dematerlised. Deeply concerned, Amelia raced to the window and saw Constance in the courtyard. Curse after curse was being cast at some trees, but nothing was there, nor was anything casting back. _Maybe they aren't visible from here,_ Amelia thought.

Amelia ran down a flight of stairs and pulled the doors to the courtyard open. She looked at the tree. Nothing was there. Knowing the danger envoled by approaching Constance when she was like this, she did the one thing she hated doing. Whispering a quick spell, she pointed directly at Constance. There was a quiet yelp and Constance stopped, her eyes glowing a brilliant blue, something which Amelia didn't notice. Suddenly Amelia's spell took place, and Constance fell to the floor, unconscious. Approaching with extreme caution, like one would approach a poisonous snake, Amelia looked at her deputy with empathy. She flicked her wrist, and Constance started to float. Amelia pulled the floating teacher to her room as quietly as possible. After a large push, the door opened and Amelia dragged Constance to her bed. Clicking her fingers, the unconscious boby descended onto the bed.

"Good night Constance," Amelia said sympathetically. Morgana hissed and leapt onto her Mistress's bed. Her olive eyes death stared Amelia, but some cat treats soon calmed Morgana down, and Amelia went to bed, knowing that Constance would be unaware of the events that night.


	2. Chapter 2

A pair of dark brown eyes opened. A constant beeping echoed around the cold room. Constance felt her pulse. It was normal. She'd had another dreamless night. Her muscles ached and felt heavy, like a sack of fungi that was out of date. Her long ebony hair was matted. With a flick of her wrist, the knots untangled to leave her hair freely flowing down her back. Clicking her fingers, her hair tied itself into it's normal tight bun. All she had to do now was choose the perfect outfit...

ฅ•ﻌ•ฅ

Mildred bolted upright. She had heard it. She had heard the key go in the door. She knew could hear someone unlocking the door. Or were they locking it? She simply didn't know. Banana-Broom was in pieces in the corner, looking as lonely as ever. The door flew open. Mildred bit her lip, praying that Miss Hardbroom wasn't about to walk in.

Miss Cackle walked in and sat on her desk. She'd realised last night that she was meant to write a letter to the Grand Wizard confirming his visit. She'd walked into the room completely oblivious to the broken broomstick on one side and the girl quaking with an immense fear on the other.

Panic rose from Mildred's feet. A single speck of dust had landed on her top lip, making her want to sneeze. If she moved, Miss Cackle might see. But if she blew it away quietly, she could sneak out when Miss Cackle departed from her office and retired to the Staffroom for breakfast. However, fate had other ideas. An ear-splitting sneeze distracted Miss Cackle from whatever she was writing and made her look directly at Mildred. Mildred grinned nervously.

"So when Miss Hardbroom said last night that you were in here, she wasn't going mad?" Miss Cackle said while smiling.

"No Miss. I mean, yes Miss Cackle, she wasn't going mad. I was practising flying my broom and I noticed how dark it was and I got scared and crash-landed through the open shutters. Banana-Broom really has had it this time though Miss Cackle," Mildred said, without taking a single breath.

"Well Mildred, you're lucky that Miss Hardbroom hasn't been in here yet because she'd have had your head. I suggest you go back to your room," Miss Cackle pulled out a small vial of something which was a revolting shade of green, "in stealth mode. That way Miss Hardbroom won't catch you."

"Thank you Miss." said Mildred smirking.

ฅ•ﻌ•ฅ

The forest was unnaturally creepy this morning. Imogen always ran in it at 5:30a.m. and it had never felt like this. It had never felt so _empty_ yet so full of life. Sensing it wasn't safe, Imogen went back to the castle. Little did she know that just a little further ahead, there was a clan of witches, plotting a takeover.

ฅ•ﻌ•ฅ

Mildred didn't know whether Miss Cackle had brewed the invisibility Potion or not, but she did know one thing. Next time Miss Cackle offers her Invisibility Potion, or any other potion for that matter, she'll just risk the wrath of an angry Hardbroom early in the morning. The potion made her feel light-headed, sick and very tired, a side effect that she'd read was due to it having _pondweed gathered at dawn_ , instead of _pondweed gathered at midnight_. It was a well-known fact around the Academy that Miss Hardbroom's Potion cupboard was designed to confuse troublesome girls who just liked finding themselves in trouble. Mildred presumed Miss Cackle didn't understand the system either.

Enid had tried to guess how the potion arrangement worked last year, but she had failed miserably, and Miss Hardbroom had made her stocktake the whole cupboard and ingredients, and then scrub the potions lab. Enid said that HB had been there the whole time, as their was ghostly footprints reappearing. The thought of that made her shiver.

As Mildred reached her room, the 7 o'clock bell went. In panic, Mildred realised how messy her uniform was. She had HB for her first class, and she didn't need to give HB anymore excuses for picking on her. Hurriedly, she grabbed her uniform, and threw it on. That way, she'd have some chance of speaking to Maud and Enid before assembly.

ฅ•ﻌ•ฅ

"It felt _odd_. Like something bad is going to happen!" Imogen said, wasting her breath by trying to explain to her colleagues the way the forest had felt that morning. She knew it was a waste of time as none of them were paying any notice.

Davina was talking to Lavinia, the teacher who is planning on replacing her when she emigrates to Inner Mongolia. Currently she was showing Lavinia the staffroom cupboard, and Lavinia was freakishly enjoying herself.

Constance was being, well, Constance. Sitting on the most uncomfortable looking chair marking the potion books of all her classes. Imogen could see that whoever's book she was marking was clearly not impressing her or doing well. She strained her eyesight and had to stop herself from gawping at how many red cross were magically appearing on the page.

Amelia was sitting on the armchair, with a plate of cream cakes in which she was merrily making her way through. On the floor next to her, there was a cheeseboard, with chunks of every possible cheese imaginable. It was like a theme park for mice, rats and Amelia Cackle herself.

"I know you're never going to listen to me, but if something is going on, we could be putting the girls in danger!" Imogen yelled, feeling exhausted from her efforts. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Imogen gawped, shocked that she was being listened to.

"My goodness, is that the time? We better head down the the Great Hall for Assembly. Constance, lock up the office," Amelia said. Imogen stood up. She should have guessed that it was too good to be true. With a loud click, the staffroom locked, and without realising, Cackles would never be the same again.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note:_** ** _Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I've had this chapter finished for ages. I know it's short. If you could please read and review, that'd be great, so I still know this story is being read. Thank you._** ** _Released on: Sunday 27th October 2019_**

Mildred stared at the blonde haired witch with curiousity. It was very rare for other people to sit up there, unless it was a special occasion. It was very rare for the school to have a visitor. The witch was too old to be training to be a teacher. Maybe Cackles was hiring more staff. Everyone knew they were needed.

Without any warning, Miss Bat starting to loudly play the school song. The girls all sighed and started to sing. After the first verse, only she and the stranger were singing. Miss Hardbroom was fiddling with the keys on her dress, which was something that she didn't normally do. Clearly, Miss Cackle was bored since she was cleaning her glasses on her dress.

Walls around started to shudder and shake violently, threatening to collapse. Sybil Hallow screamed and ran to Ethel, who looked at her little sister with disgust.

Someone hooded appeared behind Miss Hardbroom, who was distracted by the keys around her waist and hadn't noticed anything going on. A large, blood red ball of light , scarred with black magic appeared to encase the hooded intruder. They placed a bony hand on her shoulder. Constance screamed at the top of her lungs as the red light transferred onto Constance. The light took over her body and violently pulled her into the air. Constance's screams surrounded the room, echoing into the unfortunate onlookers, who were frozen with fear and shock.

The room fell silent. Constance was in the air, hovering. Then, a final shriek of pain escaped Constance's lips, sending four bolts towards her colleagues and the blonde woman who was there this morning. With that, they all rose high into the air. The light surrounding them was lighter, like good magic had been fighting it. The loud cries of agony, pity and worry filled the room.

Mildred felt helpless. Her teachers were being attacked, and all she could manage to do was blink. Fighting her intial shock and fear, Mildred gathered her thoughts and arranged them into a plan. "Maud, Enid, Ruby, Jadu! Do any of you have a ruler and some rubbers?" Mildred yelled, since she doubted talking normally would be heard over the sickening screams.

"You aren't going to do what you did last year with Hellibore," Jadu reminded her.

"I just can't put up with this. I'm feeling sick. Why at a time of need does HB find something more interesting to do?" Enid questioned, highly paranoid.

"She was in a trance. Someone or something had to have put one on her. Out of all the staff, HB is the only one powerful enough to stop them entering," Maud replied.

"How do you know?" Enid barked.

"Her eyes were a bright blue when she started to play with the keys. A clear sign of a trance put on. It would have had to been done in the night, so whoever did it was in the school," Maud said, embarrssed that her friends couldn't recognise basic spells.

"Then why didn't she take it off?" Ruby asked.

"She probably didn't know it had been placed on her," Maud said. Her friends stared at her blankly. "How can you remove a spell if you are unaware it's been cast on you in the first place?"

Before anyone could reply, more mad cackles filled the room. More hooded people flew in on brooms. The first one who appeared behind Constance mouthed a spell that went towards where Imogen had been sitting. Her light was then glowing bright blue. It blinded Mildred.

All the teachers stopped glowing and fell to the floor. A person who was wearing a black dress that looked like Constance's but was too big for her folded her arms and all the teachers disappeared.

Mildred stared at the stage for a few seconds. In a heap on the floor was a body. Her blond hair fell across the floor. Mildred blinked in disbelief. Surely this wasn't the same new person whom she'd instantly assumed was Miss Bat's replacement. She looked like a pupil. Full of curiousity, Mildred braved all the odds of her being killed and stood up. Someone coughed and she felt a pair of evil eyes stare into her very soul. The woman who had appeared from behind Constance removed her hood. Horror filled the air. "I am Mistress Broomhead," the woman snarled nastily, "And I am headteacher now!"


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note:_** ** _A really long chapter, my longest yet! (YAY!) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, your reviews make me so happy. Thank you to Dhion, who has reviewed nearly every chapter. I have decided to start dating the release date and update date of my chapters, so that new and old fans can tell this piece is still active. All previous chapters are edited before this date. Anyway, enjoy and please review. Any questions will be entered._** ** _Released on Monday 28th October 2019_**

"You can't be the headteacher! This is Cackle's Academy!" cried Enid, angry that this woman thought she could rule the school.

"Oh Ethel, I want to go home! I'm scared!" Sybil begged, tears pouring down her cheeks, "Mother won't mind, let's just write to her!" Ethel's response was a look of disgust.

"Quiet girls. I understand that you are extremely confused. I used to teach at Witch Training College. That is where I was a personal tutor and made young witches perfect. I believe that my charges would have done a lot better if they'd had a personal tutor all throughout their schooling. That is why there is enough teachers for you each to have a personal tutor," Mistress Broomhead said with passion.

"Please Miss, but what has happened to Miss Cackle, Miss Drill, Miss Bat and HB?" Maud inquired.

"That is of none of your business," Mistress Broomhead spat. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the other adult. Mistress Broomhead flicked her wrist and the young witch whose clothes were clearly too big for her and put her in a bright pink top and demin shorts, "What is your name?" demanded Mistress Broomhead.

"Miss Lavinia Crotchet," Lavinia repiled.

"I'll put you with Bat, Cackle, Drill and Hardbroom. Understand?" Mistress Broomhead instructed, with severity.

"Yes ma'am," chirped Lavinia, too enthusiastic. Mistress Broomhead clicked her fingers and Lavinia vanished.

"The assembly is dismissed. Go!" Mistress Broomhead ordered.

* * *

Mildred had never felt so rotten in her life. Not only had Broomhead taken over, but she had to share with Ethel and Drusilla. As she walked to her new dormitory, she paused outside the room that had belonged to Miss Drill. She read the door. D. Bat, A. Cackle, L. Crotchet, I. Drill C. Hardbroom. Mildred lent against the door so she could hear what they were saying.

"How many times must I ask you, who are you?"

"I've told you before, I'm Lavinia Crotchet. Who are you?"

"I'm Amelia Cackle."

"She's stirring."

"You're mad!"

There was a high pitched shriek.

"What has happened?"

"I take it you're Davina?"

"Yes! Get away from..."

The door swung open. What Mildred saw behind the door shocked her, and it was completely unexpected. Around her, there was five young girls.

One girl, short and chubby, who had blonde ringlets, was leaning over a tall, thin girl with brown hair that was mid-length.

The tall, thin girl was unconscious, or in a deep sleep, but was clearly not reacting to the events. She looked weak, sick. The sight sickened Mildred.

The girl that had vanished from assembly was in there. She and Mildred locked eye contact. Mildred saw fear, confusion and hope.

Sitting next to a bed, was a small, thin girl with messy browny-red hair. Mildred thought of HB, and was tempted to warn the girl to smarten up. After all, Mildred hadn't made the best first impressions, and this girl looked scruffier than Mildred had ever had. However, it was the sight of her nursing the other unconscious girl that made her change her mind.

The other unconscious girl had a dirty blonde bob, very short. She was thin, and resembled Miss Drill.

Three kittens and one hedgehog sat in individual baskets around the room. The girls who were still unconscious appeared to have been given the softest, most comfortable beds, while the other beds were like the ones Mildred herself was used to. There was a cough and the girl who looked like Miss Drill started to sit up. The scruffy girl moved to the side, like she was expecting an attack.

"What... What happened?" asked the girl?

"Imogen, is that you?" said the ringlet girl.

"Yes,"

"Amelia..." a voice whispered softly, in a voice that no one in the room recognised. The girl with the messy hair chuckled. Everyone looked at everyone, and then their eyes fell on the thin girl.

"Yes, I'm here. You are safe," the girl with ringlets said, and Mildred assumed this was Amelia. She added barely audible, "Whoever you are,"

"Mildred, what's wrong?" asked the girl with messy hair.

"I don't mean to upset you, but, if Miss Hardbroom comes in and sees you like that, she'll go mad. She's a fan of first impressions see, and the first time we met I crashed into the school dustbins on my broomstick. She's made life hell for me since, and I don't want her to..." Before Mildred could finish, the thin girl bolted upwards, anger rising quickly.

"First impressions are very important Mildred Hubble, and if you don't believe in them then fine. You can find another school!" She spat. The thin girl looked around the room, presumably for the first time as she showed that she didn't recognise anybody, or anything.

"Who are you?" Mildred and the thin girl asked at the same time. Mildred already had an idea about who they were, and she didn't like it for one moment.

"I'm Amelia Cackle," said the girl with ringlets. Everyone stared at the thin girl, who had just put her fingers in a position which staff and pupils recognised as a defence mechanism.

"I'm Imogen Drill," said the girl who looked like Miss Drill.

"I'm Davina Bat!" The girl who had messy hair squealed excitedly. Mildred could see the resemblance now that she knew.

"And I'm Lavinia Crotchet," said the assembly girl, almost silently, like she was ashamed to be there. Mildred sympathised with her. Lavinia was trapped in a room full of strangers, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Everyone focused their attention on the thin girl, who had realised that sitting up took out too much energy from her and was now lying back down. Her dark brown eyes resembled a mix of emotions, emotions that she would never dream of showing on her face.

"Constance?" Amelia said.

"Constance Hardbroom?" Davina added.

"Yes, Constance Hardbroom," replied the thin girl.

Mildred felt the colour drain from her face. Her original idea, that these girls were new, and would be introduced to them later, was now replaced by horror.

"Mildred Hubble, stop gawping!" snapped Constance, who was now sitting up again, "You look like a demented goldfish!"

Mildred stood there in utter disbelief. It seemed like a wild dream she'd conjured during a particularly boring chanting lesson. But even her completely wild mind could not produce anything like this. She just hoped that HB could reverse it.

"Yes Mildred, this is reality unfortunately. And I am afraid to say that I do not recognise this spell and therefore cannot reverse it," Constance said, answering Mildred's question in her mind..

"But Miss..."

"Constance, Mildred. I am not your teacher anymore," Constance corrected.

"Let Mildred speak," Amelia said. Constance just rolled her eyes.

"This mad woman has taken over, Mistress Broomhead or something like that. No one knows what to do. I'm worried that something will happen. Something bad." Mildred explained, tears appearing in her eyes. She then quickly noted the mixed look of horror that appeared unwilling on Constance's face for a split second.

Amelia knew that Constance had mentioned that name before. "Are you alright?" Amelia asked Constance through her mind. She knew Constance would pick up.

"I'm fine," Constance replied. Amelia knew she was lying, but there was nothing that could be done.

"Well Mildred, as much as I appreciate your presence and knowledge on the situation, it is high time you go. It is getting late and we all want some sleep," finished Constance. As Mildred left the room, Mistress Broomhead appeared.

Constance jumped up and clutched her heart. She knew that she'd seen somebody that night.

"Now, now Constance, calm down," said Mistress Broomhead, an evil grin crossing her face, "I wanted to be the one to tell you that I will be your personal tutor from now on. I also brought you some pajamas to sleep in. Your uniform shall appear in the morning,"

"Personal tutor?" Davina asked, confused.

"To make you perfect," Mistress Broomhead snapped. Davina yelped and hid under her bed. Constance gulped. Davina would be punished by Broomhead. Constance grinned. She'd be able to win this time. Unfortunately for her however, she thought that a little bit too loudly. She was a moment too late, and she knew that because of Broomhead's sly, evil grin.

"Let me remind you who is in charge here now Constance. Let us settle our little misunderstanding. I couldn't scar you before since I was just a mere teacher. But I can now. Your reputation has been forgotten. No one remembers who you are, except for the people inside this very building. I can do what I like. It'll be your word against mine, and that's the way it will always be..."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author's Note_** : **_Hello. Sorry for the wait, I've been so busy. This is a long chapter, and not much has really changed. I've combined chapters five and six together. Please read and review, and let me know if you like/dislike the changes. Cristism is welcome, and I will try and respond to all reviewers._** **Released** **on Sunday 8th December 2019**

* * *

She tossed over in the bed. The sheet tore. Angry red sparks flew across the room, charging into anything like a bull that saw red. She began to toss more violently and frequently. Everyone else asleep around her woke up, Shaking her proved no good. If anything, it only made things worse. Blood-curdling screams escaped her mouth, waking others up. Everyone wanted to see what the commotion was. Beads of sweat lined her forehead, as slim tears escaped her tightly closed eyes.

"Constance Hardbroom!" yelled the recognised voice of an unwanted foe. Davina bit her nails. At the sound of her name, Constance shot up and summoned a lighted candle. A flash and the foe appeared. Constance squinted to make out the figure of her enemy. Loud gulps could be heard throughout Castle Overblow.

"What time is it?" Constance asked sleepily.

"What time does your alarm usually go off? You know, your magic one which only you can stop or remove?" said the unmistakable sound of Mistress Broomhead's nightmarish voice.

"4:30. Why?" Constance asked.

"Collect your belongings. You're moving into Constance's old room," Mistress Broomhead snarled viciously.

Constance ran into her room and gleamed. Everything looked the same. There was the cauldron still bubbling away on her desk and all her lovely old dresses were in her wardrobe. Four beds magically appeared in the room and her ex colleagues all got into one. Constance took one long hard sniff of her cauldron. There was a fresh batch of Wide Awake Potion bubbling away. She filled a bottle and took a sip. Her eyes glowed bright orange and her vision sharped. She smirked. Constance Hardbroom was back. She took a slow stroll over to her wardrobe and lifted out each dress she loved dearly. She then disappeared, and the alarm silenced with her.

Imogen woke up. Her head ached, just like it had when she was younger. She looked around. There were other beds in her room. Her room looked nothing like her room. Imogen's thoughts finally caught up with her, and she remembered the events of that day. She looked on one bed, where a pair of ugly grey pajamas were neatly folded. She looked at the name tag. Scribbled messily on in a thin black pen was the name Constance Hardbroom. She ran over to a wardrobe where the draw had been flung open. It was empty. Like nothing had ever been in there. She grabbed her head as she felf like she'd been stabbed. Unable to suffer the pain anymore, she lost consciousness.

The strike of a match up high being dropped on a pile of clothes below. A tear chasing after the match. The match hitting the clothes. A fire raging. A broken person. Its face hidden by the hood on their cloak. Folding its arms, it disappears and it is grabbed by a thin, bony hand. Its scream is silenced. A cold, dark, musty cellar. No windows, no light, no nothing.The cloak being whipped off its shoulders, making its arms become bare. The crack of a whip as the whip whacks the pale skin of a truly innocent life, over and over again until it bleeds. It collapses to the floor like a broken rag doll. The thin bony hand picks it up easily. The bony hand then drops them. It falls to the floor, broken.

"Oh my gosh! Imogen; are you alright?" Amelia asked, panicked.

"I'm fine. Where's HB?" Imogen said, shocked at what she'd just witnessed.

"She's asleep in..." Amelia said. Her face fell open as she saw the bed, empty.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" Imogen asked herself outloud.

"What wasn't?" Amelia said, now concerned.

"It doesn't matter now. But I think I know where Constance is!" Imogen cried. But the pain in her head came back, and she met the floor with an almighty thud.

The chains were heavy and tight. Its wrists were sercured tightly; its blood circulation was almost cut off. A spot on the floor lit up. A cauldron appeared. A voice said "Only one can save you, the one who sees this. And everytime they fail, it'll be one minute of torture for you. For your sakes, I hope they don't panic."

A set of keys appeared, gleaming silver, on a table beside the bed. A white light went into the dungeons and and shone above a trap door with the words 'It's down here...'.

"Constance is in danger!" cried Imogen, horrified by what she had just witnessed. Rushing, Amelia grabbed her cloak and ran out of the door. Amelia knew Imogen had just been introduced to mind control, and this changes everything.

* * *

Imogen placed the candle on the desk. She did not frequently visit the old dungeons, but on the times she had, she had never noticed a trapdoor. Knowing that there would probably be a different feel, she started hopping around. She didn't have the greatest stamina at Hevisham High for nothing.

Davina liked to hide in the dungeons when Constance upset her badly. There were 50 or more passages that led down here. Her favourite one was the one from her cupboard in the staffroom. She'd spent ages using Mongolian Undertone Chanting this year to dig a pathway. The tiles weren't meant to fall off. They must have been loose. It was a shame, since the tunnel had only just been secured by Frank Blossom.

Amelia hated this part of the school. The kitchens might have been nearby, but this was a place Constance liked to disappear to when she was feeling a particularly strong negative emotion. She wished she could do what Constance could do, although it got Constance's entire family murdered. She'd have found Constance ages ago. Knowing Constance, she was probably sitting there watching them break rules invisible.

Lavinia had never been here. Something told her that she shouldn't be here. Maybe it was the air, or the weird way the floor underneath her creaked and felt like planks of wood. It was only when Imogen hopped near her and fell onto her that she realised what she'd been standing on.

"Is this the trapdoor?" Lavinia squeaked, realising the chaos that she'd caused. Davina ran over and shoved the tangled mess of Imogen and Lavinia off the door and lifted it open. Amelia squinted, trying to make out what was down there, while Davina got the candle. They held it so it illuminated the hole. An awkward silence fell. A thin body in a long black cloak was spread out on the floor, like a broken ragdoll.

Imogen, who had left Lavinia struggling to get up, threw herself down the hole. There was not a ladder nor any stairs to help them get down. Amelia remembered that she herself was extremely sporty as a child, and like a cat, always landed on her feet. Following in Imogen's footsteps, Amelia tossed herself down the hole, and ran towards the body that she considered her daughter.

"Amelia, stay back. She's watching." breathed Constance heavily. The chains were bounding her arms and legs. Her dark brown eyes reflected worry and pain, but her face was empty. Even as a child, she appeared to show little or no emotion.

"Who's watching?" Amelia asked, thinking of a curse, any curse to destroy the onlooker.

A laugh that belonged to a maniac echoed the dark room, as a knife with a black blade found Constance's heart. Mistress Broomhead appeared, smirking.

"What have you done to her? You've killed her!" Imogen screamed, biting her tongue, for the sight of Constance's dark blood dribbling onto the floor was making her feel faint.

"I've not killed her you stupid girl," Mistress Broomhead spat, walking over to Imogen and kicking her to the floor, "I'm changing her. That knife is putting a new type of magic in. She won't be the Constance you remember. Call her Constance 2.0, new and improved."

"Black magic... You're changing the closet thing that I have as a daughter into a killing machine?" Amelia said, with vicious red sparks ferociously flickering from her fingers.

Imogen glared, her fingers buzzing. Pins and needles crept up her arms as a bright blue line leapt off her fingertips and destroyed the knife deeply embedded into Cobstance's chest. She leapt back, amazed at her new power. A light appeared around Constance, as inky black smoke surrounded her body. Imogen coughed, and wafted the smoke away. The Constance Hardbroom lay on the floor, as a solid stone statue.

"All you have to do is a simple reversal spell, followed by an unbinding charm. Then you have to do an advanced reversal spell. All of which is found in that book over there. The longer it takes, the more black magic remains in her blood. Imogen, you are a witch and therefore must do the spells, to practise your magical abilities." instruced Mistress Broomhead.

"But there advanced spells!" cried Amelia, knowing that Imogen would struggle.

"Do I look like I am bothered?" Mistress Broomhead said, unamused, "You have 30 minutes, else the magic becomes permanent."

Mistress Broomhead vanished in a puff of smoke. Imogen stared at the empty spot with hated, hugging the statue of Constance on the floor. Amelia gently shook her by the shoulder, waking her up from her depressing thoughts. All her thoughts instantly turned to saving Constance.

"Amelia, please! What's the simple reversal spell!?" Imogen begged, worried she might pronounce it incorrectly. Amelia's mouth moved, but no sound escaped.

Great, she's put a spell on Amelia to stop her talking me through it. Of course she has! I must read the spells for myself!"Imogen thought aloud. She ran over to the book and opened it to Page 55, a simple reversal spell.

"Reversus Revolvus, Returnus Resolvus, Illio Allio, Redux Reducio!" yelled Imogen. The stone encasing around Constance disappeared, revealing her pale skin. Amelia ran over and stroked her forehead, comforting her.

Imogen turned to Page 94, an unbinding spell.

"Incantus Liberatus!" Imogen said. The chains clasped tightly around Constance's wrists and ankles opened, showing a nasty red mark. Now all she had to do was an advanced reversal spell. She turned to Page 543 and looked. A bashing spell would vanish the black magic, but if she added on the end _Healus, cureus, transfrogamorphus_ , that would seal the wound.

"Protectus Precipitatus, Infaglatus Lunk Departus, Healus, Cureus, Transfrogamorphus!" Imogen said. She watched as the Constance's blood travelled up her pajama top and back into her body, with an ugly blackish ink pouring straight out. The wounds closed up and the tear in the pajamas was sewn.

Finally, the weak body pushed itself up and opened its dark brown eyes, taking in the dark, musty surroundings.

"Amelia, careful, watching, angry..." Constance said, with a high degree of panic and concern in her voice.

"Who's watching Constance?" Amelia said, looking behind her. All she could she was the trapdoor, and Imogen. Constance looked horrified. Amelia wrapped her arms around her, desperate to comfort her. Constance was shaking. Amelia thought she heard someone whisper I'm sorry, but she had no time to think about it, for her head hit the floor.

"I know you're there!" Constance cried, "I won't hurt you if you appear! I have a rather good aim!"

But no one appeared. Feeling guilty, Imogen slowly approached the little girl, whose eyes showed too much fear for someone who clearly wasn't that old.

"Shush. It's me, Imogen," Imogen said apologetically.

"Imogen..." Constance said, as if she was trying the word like a new food item.

"You're safe now. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you," Imogen said, not thinking of the consequences if she was unable to do that.

"Oh Imogen, it's you! It's really you!" Constance said, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"I need to carry Amelia back so can you stand up?" Imogen asked wearily.

"You don't. I'll transport us back. I know Davina and Lavinia are up there, so I'll do them too," Constance said sternly, the tears instantly stopping.

"You're injured," Imogen said smiling.

"You healed me. I'm painfree," Constance responded.

"It'll tire you out," Imogen answered.

"It does not tire someone who is used to it out," Constance said, with a demanding glare that could make the bravest of all the girls burst into tears. Knowing that she wasn't going to win, Imogen gave a mild nod. Constance folded her arms, and they all disappeared.


	6. Chapter 7

**_Authors N_** ** _ote:_** ** _Omigod_** ** _. I am so sorry that I have not updated in what feels like forever. Life got in the way and I then developed a severe case of writer's block. Apologies about the Wicked reference near the end of the chapter; I just couldn't resist. Well, like always, please read and review, and constructive criticism is always appreciated._** **HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!**

 **Released On - Friday 31st January 2020**

Rumours were travelling around the school like a wildfire spreading through a dry forest. Most didn't believe that their teachers were children. It didn't sound possible. Mrs Tapioca and Mr Blossom had been dismissed that morning, and it made tempers flare. Mistress Broomhead was not the rightful headmistress, surely?

* * *

Mildred had been up all night worrying. As far as she was aware, she was the only pupil in the school that had seen the teachers after their transformation. She'd left one a bad note with HB, who was ordering Mildred to call her Constance. However, Mildred's thought path was interrupted by Enid who entered the room and let the door slam into the stone wall.

"I can't believe it. I just can't believe. Mr Blossom and Mrs Tapioca were possibly the only sane members of staff in the school. And Broomhead marches in Hu here and demands that everyone follows her orders. You must go, the devil yelled. She demanded them leaving forever, and then for fun wiped their memories of this place and of us! Surely HB would have done something to her by now, like turn her into a ant and put her in a jar? I mean, why hasn't she?" Enid moaned.

"HB's more scared of her than the rest of us put together. She's too scared to touch her," Maud replied, "What do you think Millie?"

"She's worried she's going to be powerless," Mildred said, while stroking Tabby.

"What?" Enid said, biting her lip to control her giggles.

"Well, she's a child now, but she doesn't know how old she is. Honestly, she's not recognisable, she looks a lot shorter, maybe even shorter than me," Mildred said, letting the words fall out of her mouth like heavy raindrops falling from the sky.

"You lot are all the same, your as mad as a flock of bats. Of course HB's not a child. There's no such spell. And even if there was, it wouldn't be legal," Ethel said, looking at them like they were dirt on the bottom of her shoes, "And your Tabby upset my Nightstar."

"It wouldn't matter Ethel whether it is legal or not, that Broomhead doesn't look like she cares about the law," Maud said, trying to ease the thick tension that had built in the room.

"Seeking out new victims she can hurt!" Enid sung, collapsing on Ethel's bed. The anger brightly plastered itself on Ethel; even the word anger could not describe it. Ethel walked over to Mildred, her fists tightly clenched behind her back.

"You listen to me..." Ethel began.

"Come on Ethel, we're going to be late for Potions if you don't hurry up!" Drusilla cried, bored out of her mind over the pathetic squabbles between the two friendship groups. She just wished they could all be together and get on. Mildred and her friends seemed so fun. With Ethel, fun was a word that could not be used when talking about Ethel.

"I'm not finished with you, Mildred Hubble," Ethel said with a menacing glare.

"Charming." Enid said once Ethel and Drusilla had left the room. The trio collapsed onto Mildred's bed in a fit of laughter.


	7. Chapter Eight

"Constance!" Mistess Broomhead yelled, pulling her out of her thought process, "How many seats are spare with this class normally?"

"Erm...Four but then Harriet Goodcharm left so that's five," Constance said, recalling the seating plan in her mind.

"Then how come I can count eight empty spaces?" screamed Mistress Broomhead, as a eerie red glow surrounded every empty space.

Constance froze in fear, and leant on Davina to support her weight slightly, for she knew exactly what was coming next. Davina looked at her in shock, for it was so unexpected, so unusual. After a moment she forgot about her thoughts and started writing a new chant in her mind. Constance closed her eyes, expecting a sharp pain in her back. But nothing happened.

"Constance! Who's missing?" Mistress Broomhead barked.

Recalling the seating plan in her mind, she looked to see who was missing.

"Mildred Hubble, Maud Moonshine and Enid Nightshade," Constance said, her eyes wide and her face neutral.

"Fetch them," Mistress Broomhead ordered.

Unwillingly, Constance folded her arms and transported to the area she suspected they were. She hated being told what to do now, and since she'd left Witch Training College as a free witch, she'd always had the greatest respect. A fire that burned deep inside her soul was being fought against. Mistress Broomhead had managed to put it out once, but it restarted. This time she was determined to put it out permanently. Constance's spells and potions were always perfect.

"Girls! What on earth do you think you're playing at?" demanded Constance as she materialised in the room. The merry laughter that filled the air changed into shock and horror as Maud and Enid sat on the bed gawping.

"Sorry Constance, we were coming in a minute, honest," Mildred said shamefully.

"Who are you?" Enid said disrespectfully. Before Enid got a reply she was sitting in her usual seat her Potions Classroom.

"Thank you Constance for fetching our late arrivals. Where were they?" Mistress Broomhead asked.

"They were outside Amelia's old office, almost here," Constance replied, with a high note of terror to her voice. The five new girls who were standing at the front looked different. Enid recognised them from somewhere. She was shocked that one who had fetched them from Mildred's room had lied about there location.

"Why were you running late anyway, girls?" Mistress Broomhead asked, dismissing Constance's story, which she knew was a lie.

"We were erm... studying our potions?" Mildred said, hoping to get away with it.

"Reasonable. Front row of girls I want Constance, Mildred, Imogen, Amelia, Davina, Lavinia, Ethel and Drusilla," Mistress Broomhead said, "Everyone else can sit where they like."

Everyone ran around the room trying to get to there seats and sit next to all there friends. Mildred was fearful. She was the worst at Potions in the room and she was being forced to sit next to HB, who'd probably be the best. Ethel glared at the new girl with jealousy. This Constance hahad taken her seat and didn't seem bothered. She decided she'd sort her out later.

"Well Mildred Hubble, I never saw this one coming," Constance said.


	8. Chapter Nine

Mistress Broomhead's Potion lesson from hell had officially finished. The first lessons with their personal tutors started at 7 p.m. sharp. Each member of staff would be reporting lateness, and lateness would be severely punished.

Constance had chosen to take lead on making a Sneezing Potion. She and Mildred worked in silence. Mildred felt guilty that Constance was blanking her, and couldn't wait for the the lesson to end so that she could ask why she lied to Broomhead. The potion was successful, unlike Amelia and Imogen's, which had destroyed a cauldron and damaged the desk. Constance had said to Amelia that it was risky letting a witch who had only just gained magical powers try to brew such a high level potion. Whether Amelia was living to regret that, Constance did not know, since both Amelia and Imogen had been sent to sit outside Mistress Broomhead's office for a stern talking to.

When Mistress Broomhead stormed out of the classroom to tell Imogen and Amelia off, Mildred decided to go and ask Constance, who was standing next to her packing her bag. But Ethel and Drusilla got there first.

"Look you weirdo, I don't know who you are or who you think you are but I'm telling you now, I'm Ethel Hallow and nobody other than me sits in that seat and is teacher's pet. That's my role and if you want it you can go off to boring old Pentangles," Ethel said angrily. She was ever so slightly taller, but to make herself more threatening, she stood on her tiptoes.

"I think you know who I am Ethel Hallow," Constance said, without looking up or stopping packing her bag, "In fact, I think you're certain. And I'm sure you'd rather me forget all that once you remember."

Ethel gulped. Very loudly. Ever so slowly her brain was catching up with her mouth, as flashbacks of being teachers pet burned her mind.

"She's Constance Hardbroom Ethel!" Mildred yelled. This made Constance stop what she was doing and look and Mildred. Ethel and Drusilla also did, but they were more confused than anything else, "What? Do you two bullies need me to spell it out? Don't look at me like that Drusilla Paddock, it's true! You and Ethel are nothing more than bullies!"

"You'll regret saying that Mildred Hubble!" Ethel yelled, before brushing past Constance with a look of disgust.

"Yeah Mildred Hubble, you'll regret that!" Drusilla said, knocking Constance's bag onto the floor and shoving Constance into the desk. Drusilla then slammed the door behind her. Constance seemed unaffected by the events and was still staring at Mildred.

"Do you want help with your bag?" Mildred asked, this time with a soft note of concern in her voice.

"Bag? Oh, no thank you Mildred," Constance said. She clicked her fingers and everything magically went into her bag, and her bag went onto her shoulder. Mildred stood there gawping, like she was a non witch and this was her first time of witnessing magic.

"Mildred, stop gawping. It's your second year and you have seen magic performed before. What did you want?" Constance snapped, letting her strict disciplinarian side kick in.

"I wanted to ask why you lied to Broomhead," Mildred said, more confidently than she'd ever spoke to Constance before. Mildred was right that Constance was smaller; Mildred was slouched while Constance kept her back straight, like she had a iron pole down her uniform to keep her standing up straight.

"Lie? I don't know what you mean Mildred," Constance said emotionless.

"You know exactly what I mean. You lied about where you found us. You said you found us outside Miss Cackle's..."

"Amelia's," Constance interrupted.

"I'm talking and you rudely interrupted me! Where was I? You said you found us outside Miss Cackle's old office when you actually found us in my bedroom. I want to know why," Mildred said, nodding her head to say that she'd finished.

Constance folded her arms and disappeared. Mildred stared at the spot where she'd just been. Something else in the room caught Mildred's attention. It seemed Constance's spell had missed an item.

A small case made out of the darkest wood with ivy carved in lay on the floor. Mildred looked around to make sure that nobody was looking. She picked up the case. The cold surface of the wood was odd, it was like picking up a handful of freshly fallen snow without gloves on. Small snowflakes were carved in to spell something. Mildred couldn't understand the words, for they were too tiny. She carefully opened up the box.

A wintery breeze swept out of the box. Mildred gasped. The box had a soft purple velvet silk cushion and on top of that lay a beautiful mirror. It's sleek silver handle glowed a bright colour. Mildred lent out to touch it.

 _Box...Unfamiliar hands...Curse..._

Constance appeared out of nowhere, "Do not touch that Mildred Hubble!"


	9. Chapter 10

The box with the silver mirror flew out of Mildred's hands and landed in Constance's. Constance waved her finger over the mirror. The mirror rippled, revealing the the words _Hello Constance Hardbroom_.

"Why can't I touch it?" Mildred asked, like a child who'd just been told they couldn't have the toy they'd always wanted. Constance stood still, deep in thought.

Even if she told Mildred, Mildred wouldn't understand, and would probably use it to her advantage. After all, everyone knew Mildred as _Mildred Hubble, nothing but trouble_. Trouble seemed to follow her anywhere and everywhere. But maybe if she told Mildred, she'd feel better. Mildred had shown the greatest act of kindness to Constance, something that Constance considered a foreign object.

Mildred watched her ex teacher. Although Constance showed no emotion, it was clear that she was considering her options. Mildred didn't want to invade, in fact, she didn't mean to invade, but now the mysterious Constance Hardbroom's personal life was coming into the open, Mildred felt as though she was bound to discover more.

"I never meant to be the worst. It sort of just happened. And I always felt as though you weren't bothered in encouraging me and making me feel better. You never smiled, unless you found something amusing. I don't know what made you so miserable, but you're a child now, not the fearsome Potions teacher you once were," Mildred said. Constance just stood there.

"Mildred Hubble, how dare you talk to me like that!" Constance said, flipping like the switch on a kettle when the water's boiled.

"No Constance Hardbroom, don't you use that voice on me. I'm not scared of you anymore. I just want to know about that mirror. I won't tell anyone about it, I promise," Mildred said, shocked at her sudden burst of confidence.

"Fine. But I can't tell you here," Constance replied before folding her arms and transporting them both into a dark part of the forest surrounding the castle, next to a clear blue lake.

"Where are we?" Mildred asked amazed. She'd seen lots of the forest in her time at the Academy but this was something she'd never seen. She went over to a rock next to the lake and put her bag on the floor next to it.

"In the heart of the forest. This is Overblow Lake," Constance said, before sitting on a rock.

"Overblow Lake? Isn't this area out of bounds and cursed?" Mildred asked, expecting Constance to instantly transport them somewhere else.

"Out of bounds? Most certainly. Cursed? Most certainly not. That's just a story I made up to a first year when I first started working here since I regularly visited. They'd almost entered here so I took them back to the castle and told them that it was cursed. They told others and that story went through generations since," Constance explained, "It wasn't meant to be told to anyone."

Constance removed the silver mirror from the box. It gleamed in her hand.

"So what's the story about this useless old thing?" Mildred asked disrespectfully.

"Mildred Hubble, just because it's old does not mean that it's useless," Constance said, with a glare of warning in Mildred's direction, "It's a family heirloom. More of a family burden. Mildred, this mirror could kill you if it even brushed past your skin. One touch off someone who it doesn't belong to and something terrible happens."

"What _terrible_ thing happens?" Mildred mocked, giggling when she said terrible.

Constance stood up, but Mildred gave her a friendly push, trying to say that she was joking. Constance fell in the lake and screamed. When she emerged, the mirror was undamaged, but there was a tear in her black pinafore, and the tassels on her sash were floating in the water. Her arms were cut. Her hair that had been in a tight bun had fallen down and was just pasr her shoulders. "The rocks at the bottom were sharp," Constance said, while going back to sit on the rock.

Constance looked at the mirror. Although Mildred could not read minds, she could read faces, "Wait, you have this dangerous artifact and you don't even know what it could do?" Mildred asked. She felt ashamed for mocking Constance earlier.

"No Mildred, I don't. There's stories, rumours. My mother gave it to me before she was murdered. I had to flee with my older brother. I was going to give it to his daughter today, I'd even managed to arrange time off. But then this all happened. It tells you when it's ready. It makes you think you're going to die. But I didn't," Constance said.

Before Mildred could ask anymore, she was back in her room on her bed, lying down. She knew she was not dreaming, but she was lying in her bed. Maybe it was a dream after all.

The bell ringed altering the pupils that there break had ended and they had to be in lesson. Mildred shot up and went to the cupboard where her bag was usually stored. There was no bag to be seen. Panic rose through Mildred. It wasn't a dream.

Her bag was sitting by the lake. It was miles away, and would take days to get to by foot, hours by broom. She grabbed a map. If she flew, she'd be gone eight hours. She could ask Constance, but that seemed risky. _A risk too risky to take,_ Mildred thought.

She could always go without her books and say they got wet. They'd only got chanting. They didn't have chanting books unless they were learning a new chant and had to write about it.

Realising it was her only option, Mildred ran to chanting, determined not to be late for her lessons twice in a row.


	10. Chapter Eleven

Mildred collapsed to the floor, exhausted. She'd ran from her room to chanting.

"Where's your bag Millie?" quizzed Maud. It was unlike Mildred to forget something like that.

"It doesn't matter. Have you seen Constance anywhere?" Mildred asked.

"Yeah. She's right there," Enid said.

Just before Mildred reached where Constance was, a teacher walked directly past her, shoving her into a wall. She stopped and looked at Constance. The tear on her dress was still there, and there was part of her sash missing. She had plated her hair into a neat French plat.

"So your the famous Mildred Hubble everyone's been talking about," barked the teacher.

"No, I'm Constance Hardbroom. Who are you?" Constance said, folding her arms, clearly thinking of a spell to cast in self defense.

"I am Miss Firestone. And don't try those ridiculous name changing tricks with me. Scruffy uniform, plats. Go to Mistress Broomhead's Office at once. And make sure you tell her the true reason of why I sent you," demanded Miss Firestone.

"I went to school with you Fiona. You used to be scared of me. I never knew why then. But I know more spells. I know 50 spells that will make you remember," Constance threatened. She then glared at Mildred. Mildred looked at the floor. She felt guilty. Constance was thought to be her. Broomhead will kill HB, most certainly. All she needs is one excuse.

"Get out of my class line right now and don't you ever dare think of coming back into it!" screamed Miss Firestone, her eyes glowing a deep red. Constance fell to the floor, clutching her head. Red sparks started to surround Constance, and her eyes reflected a fire that couldn't be seen. She swiped her hand across the floor, and dissappeared.

Miss Firestone stood and stared, as Mildred ran to the spot where Constance had been previously. She knew where Constance had gone. She signalled her friends to follow her, and together they ran to get their brooms and fly to Overblow Lake.


	11. Chapter 12

As their brooms gracefully desended onto a patch of ground with crispy, golden leaves littered like snowflakes on Christmas Day. Mildred stood there, listening for Constance. There was nothing but silence. Mildred screamed at the top of her lungs, letting all her anger out. Her scream echoed across the area, getting louder and louder every moment.

"Be quiet Mildred Hubble!" Constance sternly ordered, appearing out of thin air. This always made Mildred shiver, for it was a lot more threatening and scary now that Constance was just a child.

"Constance, it's not that bad. Who cares if she mistakes you for me? I'm practically an angel," Mildred tried to reassure Constance, but she was failing at it badly.

"It's terrible Mildred. I'm stuck like... like... this, and there is nothing in the world that can reverse it," Constance said, clearly on the brink of tears.

"The Inspectors that came, you have their magic address. You can write to them, maybe even fly to them! They can reverse it and everything will go back to the way it was," Maud said, trying to get her words to make sense.

"No Maud Moonshine, that won't work. I can remember my own memories, memories from my adulthood, but they can't remember me," Constance said, her voice shaking.

"Who's they?" Enid asked, intrigued.

"Everyone who wasn't on the ground when the spell was cast," Constance explained, regaining her posture and changing her expression to the usual unreadable one.

"Maybe someone magic who doesn't work for Broomhead was on the grounds at the time of the cast?" Mildred said, hoping it would be true.

"Impossible Mildred. Broomhead and Agatha and Agatha's pathetic cronies were putting the spell on the night before, meaning that we couldn't exit and only they could enter. I could hear them thinking. I could hear you dreaming Mildred. I went to attack them, to try and put a whole in the wall. Amelia thought I'd gone mad, for they did it while they were under an invisiblity potion. She didn't see the trance spell hit me. I didn't see it coming. This is all my fault!" Constance ran and sat a rock, the tears pouring out of her eyes, running down her cheeks.

Mildred followed Constance and sat down next to her. She slowly wrapped her arm around Constance's shoulder. Constance looked at Mildred frightened. She shivered but did not shake Mildred off.

"I think I'm 13," Constance said, after awhile.

"What makes you think that?" Enid rudely demanded.

"On the 13th of January 1973, my younger brother accidentally stabbed me with a knife," Constance explained.

"But how does that prove your age?" Maud asked, confused, "And how do you even remember that date?"

"My birthday is the 14th of January," Constance said.

"That's tomorrow!" Enid said excitedly, "We can have cake, I know how to magic one and we must have a party..."

"Enid Nightshade, stop coming out with those ridiculous ideas. We most certainly cannot have a party!" Constance said. Enid frowned. She didn't understand.

"Why can't we?" Mildred asked, "We are just as entitled to a party as all those other girls. And besides, you only get to become 14 once, or in your case twice.

"That's not the point Mildred Hubble! And besides, parties are ludicrous things!" Constance said.

"You've never had a party for any of your, how many birthdays, have you? I mean, you've definitely had more than 14," Enid mocked.

"39. This should have been my 40th." Constance said, "And you are right, for once, Enid Nightshade, I have never had a birthday party. My family were staunch traditionalists. Birthdays weren't a time for celebration, they were a time of reflection.

"Wow. Glad I never lived at the Hardbroom Household," Maud added.

"I know, I'll write to my mom. She bakes cakes," Mildred said, "I can smuggle it in; Broomhead'll never know."

"Mildred, you don't have a mother anymore. None of you girls do. Your parents weren't on the grounds. They have forgotten you. Cackle's Academy has been wiped from everyone's memory, no one apart from us remembers it," Constance said. Constance folded her arms and they were all transported back to the castle.


	12. Chapter 13

"Hardbroom!" yelled Miss Firestone, who was violently rocking in a rocking chair that had recently been added into the staffroom, "She's a pest, a living nightmare! She's got that much knowledge and power, that she doesn't care!"

"I see Fiona. Is there anything else you want to say about Constance?" Mistress Broomhead asked, her icy glare freezing the wall behind Miss Firestone.

"Why didn't you just kill her? Surely that would have been easier than, well, this!" Miss Firestone protested.

"Kill Constance? I couldn't do that. And besides, she hated being a teenager and everything that came with it. This for her is what I believe they call _a fate worse than death_. What happened in the lesson?" Mistress Broomhead asked.

"The lesson? She vanished before the lesson even started! Her uniform was scruffy, and she had platted her hair. I thought she was Mildred Hubble. She took offence, mentioned our childhood, threatened me and vanished. Then three other girls walked away. One girl had her hair in pigtails and wore glasses, another had messy plats and undone bootlaces. I presume that one was the infamous Mildred Hubble. The other one had a plat going over her one shoulder. She seemed... argumentive, " Miss Firestone finished.

"I'll speak with Constance in our personal session tonight. I believe that you have Mildred Hubble yourself. I'm sure you can teach her a serious lesson about skipping classes," Mistress Broomhead said, with a vile smirk painted deeply on her face.

_

Constance landed on her bed, exhausted. A clean uniform appeared on her bed, all neat and tidy.

"I thought it didn't tire you out," Imogen said, without looking up from the magazine she was reading.

"You thought what doesn't tire me out?" Constance asked, fixing her eyes on i

Imogen, "Oh, you thought the transportation doesn't tire me out. I'm not tired from that."

"I wish you'd stop doing that. It's scary. You can't think of anything about you without you knowing what your thinking," Imogen said.

"It's great for private conversations," Constance said in Imogen's mind.

"Did you just talk to me through my own mind?" Imogen asked, scared.

"Oh Imogen, don't be scared. But in answer to your question then, yes I did," Constance said out loud. The door opened and Amelia walked in.

"Oh Constance, there you are! Are you alright?" Amelia asked.

"I'm fine," Constance replied.

"I don't have a clue what to get you for your birthday tomorrow. I mean, I can't get you a bottle of red wine, we're underage now," Amelia said.

"I didn't know it was your birthday," Imogen gasped, shocked that Constance had never said.

"It's normally just an event that Amelia and I have a drink to," Constance quickly added. Morgana leapt up off the floor, hissed at Imogen, and curled up under Constance's arm.

"So how old would you have been if this event hadn't have occurred?" Imogen questioned, half expecting to have a spell flung at her.

"40," Constance said sternly, "But 14 this time. We are 13. I know because 26 years ago today my younger brother stabbed me with a knife accidentally. I didn't have the scar and today it bled," Constance said. Just as Davina and Lavinia marched into the room arguing over a chant, a high pitched scream filled the room.

"What on earth is that?" asked Imogen putting her fingers in her ears. Amelia, Davina and Lavinia followed Imogen's move. Constance frowned, and seemed completely oblivious to the sound, or it didn't bother her.

"It's obviously 6:59," Constance said. Her roommates just stared at her, "Well, I couldn't use the same sound!" And with that Constance folded her arms and disappeared. As she disappeared, the alarm stopped.

"I wish she'd warned us at least!" Davina yelled, her fingers still in her ears. The rest of the room walked out, ready for their personal tutor session.


	13. Chapter Fourteen

"I can recall that we had a similar conversation 24 years ago, didn't we Constance?" Mistress Broomhead said sternly.

"I am not sure Mistress Broomhead, as you have not told me what we are going to talk about," Constance said smirking.

"Stop smirking girl!" Mistress Broomhead yelled, as she waved her hand and Constance fell to the floor clutching her head, "I thought we learned that rudeness and cheekiness resulted in severe punishment also."

 _A bright light filled her head. A small boy, about_ _10, clung onto a girl's waist. They were both badly burned. A large house stood on a hill burning down. A black carriage came and a person stepped out. They grabbed the boy and through him in, then slapped the girl. The carriage disappeared, as did the face of her brother. She looked at her hands, which were badly blistered and painful. She looked down at the house. A small hand dragged itself down the window, before all the screams stopped. The girl felt her heart stopped, and she screamed, which created the second fire of the night. As she fled, she knew her brother had burned in the forest. Every death that night was her fault._

"Please do not do it again Mistress Broomhead, I cannot see it again!" Constance begged.

"Witches do not beg. I will do it over and over again for the rest of your pathetic life if you continue begging," Mistress Broomhead threatened, "Back to my agenda, I was speaking to Miss Firestone and she informed me of your behaviour in her lesson. Or should I say, outside her lesson. She told me that you were not there for long."

"I did what you used to tell me to do. When I feel angry or upset, I vanish and go away," Constance said confidentially.

"But you don't do it in the middle of class!" Miss Broomhead yelled, her voice making the jars on the shelves shake.

"Chanting is pointless. I can't do it very well, like every other Hardbroom before me!" Constance screamed, sparks flying from her fingers.

Mistress Broomhead grabbed Constance by her tie and threw her into the Potions cupboard. Constance banged and kicked and slapped the door, but she knew there was no getting out. All she knew was that Amelia was in trouble, and she couldn't transport out.

"You weren't expecting to see me, were you Amelia?"

"What are you doing here Agatha? What's Broomhead offering you?" Amelia questioned, preparing a curse that would remove Agatha from her old school.

"Do not question me Amelia! I'm the eldest now!" Agatha yelled.

"We are still twins! And we will be. I'm certain we will all discover a reversal, and then you will be in trouble!" Amelia yelled, throwing her curse at Agatha. Agatha dodged it, and her curse knocked Amelia to the floor.

Amelia thought long and hard. In her head, she was yelling for Constance. There wasn't any response. _Come on Constance, reply to me! I know you are listening, I can feel you in my mind!_ No response. A loud thud echoed around the room, followed by a bell, which signaled the tutor session as over. Amelia ran to where her bag had fell, and ran out of the door before Agatha could stop her.

"Now then Mildred Hubble, what do I want to talk to you about?" Miss Firestone spat.

"I don't know Miss," Mildred said sweetly, as she realised this was the teacher whose lesson she had skipped to get Constance earlier.

"I am Miss Firestone Mildred Hubble. You would know that if you were in my lesson earlier, wouldn't you?" Miss Firestone asked, snapping at her violently. Mildred shuffled her seat back, as she was scared Miss Firestone would slap her, "So what were you doing that was more important than chanting?"

"Nothing Miss Firestone. I'm sorry," Mildred said, trying to sound apologetic, "I am really unlucky to miss out."

"That's fine. You will catch up now," Miss Firestone spat, with a sly smirk on her face.

"What?" Mildred asked.

"You will do the lesson now and you will not leave until it is perfect," Mistress Broomhead yelled appearing in the middle of the room, "Is Miss Hubble is causing an issue Fiona?"

"No. I am just teaching her how skipping classes is a bad thing? Do you want me to take Constance?" Miss Firestone asked, looking for her, "Where is Constance?"

"Oh, she's safe and sound. Trust me," Mistress Broomhead said, before dramatically disappearing.


	14. Chapter 15

Amelia sat on her bed, waiting for the others to return. She felt like she had been waiting for hours when the door finally opened and Imogen stepped in.

"Are you okay Amelia?" Imogen asked, noticing the concern printed on her friend's face, "Was the session bad?"

"No. Well, yes. But that's not the reason. I'm worried about Constance," Amelia said.

"Why?" Imogen asked. Amelia felt like Constance seemed to feel when people asked pointless questions where the answer was obvious.

"She's got Broomhead, hasn't she?" Amelia said, "She'll be suffering terribly. She skipped Chanting and Broomhead is bound to have heard. I tried asking her for help through my mind. I could feel her listening but she just ignored me. Like the time I slapped her when I was drunk."

"I...I...I meant how was your session? Who did you have?" Imogen asked, slightly scarred from the previous conversation, "That story can wait, I think. I'd erm, like to hear it when we are celebrating Constance's 70th birthday."

"I will tell you if Broomhead hasn't killed Constance by then, Imogen. My personal tutor is Agatha. We fought and I fell," Amelia said, anger burning brightly in her eyes.

A light knock on the door attracted the attention of them both. It was so soft that it was impossible to be Constance, but Constance wouldn't knock anyway. The door opened slowly to reveal a girl with undone bootlaces and messy plats standing in the doorway.

"Ah, Mildred Hubble, what can we do for you?" Amelia asked softly.

"Is Constance back yet?" Mildred asked, trying to look into the dark room.

"Not many people are." Imogen said, "It's just us. I don't suppose you've seen anyone have you?"

"M... Davina and Lavinia are sitting under a tree chanting. I'm just worried about Constance. Broomhead came in earlier and said something about Constance being safe and sound. I'm worried that she's in danger," Mildred said.

"What if she's done the same thing that she did last night?" Amelia jumped up and started to pace across the room, panicked and scared.

"She targeted me last night. I've had no visions," Imogen said, trying to comfort Amelia, "She's probably waited for Broomhead to leave and started to attempt to brew a brand new potion that'll reverse the spell."

"What happened last night?" Mildred asked.

"Constance set all of her clothes alight and then Broomhead found her, chained her up and whipped her in the dungeons, then she manipulated Constance into bringing us all down, stabbed Constance and then expected me to do advance spells to save Constance," Imogen said, with a thin tear sliding down her face at the memory.

"I came because Enid asked me to speak to Constance to try and change her mind about the party," Mildred explained.

"What party?" Amelia asked, intrigued. In all the years she had known Constance, Constance never seemed to have understood parties. She remembered the time Constance had caught the suprise party in the dungeons. That was a week after she had become her deputy. She'd been angry with the pupils involved for weeks.

"Enid wants to throw a party for Constance at Overblow Lake at the weekend. We'll get everyone over after dinner and then maybe you could get Constance to transfer you there?" Mildred's statement turned into a question.

"That'll cheer her up after the week she's had," Imogen replied enthusiastically.

"That's if she's still alive," Amelia said panicking again, "I can feel her, listening to the conversation in my mind, but she's not saying anything back!"

"Maybe she's upset still about the whole Mildred incident earlier," Mildred said.

"Don't blame yourself Mildred, it couldn't be helped." Imogen said.

A loud knocking filled the room. Both Imogen and Amelia looked at each other.

"Constance," they said in unison, as they left to go to dinner.


	15. Children Once Again 16

Constance hadn't been seen at dinner last night. Her alarm to alert her that she'd had dinner duty had finished within an hour of it going off. No one had seen her since she left to go to her personal tutoring session.

Amelia ran to her room, hoping Constance would be in there. Her heart was only filled with disappointment when Constance wasn't there. Constance was like a daughter; Amelia loved her and told her off when she did something wrong.

"Don't worry Amelia, I'm sure she'll turn up," Imogen said, wrapping her arm around Amelia.

"I hope you're right," Amelia said, concern painted deeply on her face. The thought of Constance struggling scared her, and she wished Constance would just tell her where she was.

Constance sat in the cupboard, having given up on making noise. She'd placed a spell on the cupboard to prevent her from talking to people through their minds while she was in there. She could hear Broomhead outside, messing with something. She'd been doing it every now and again, then she'd walk out and come back in. Constance didn't know how long she'd been there.

 _Footsteps._

 _A key in the door._

"Stand up," Mistress Broomhead demanded.

"I'm sorry about earlier and skipping Chanting. I promise I will not do it again," Constance said, keeping her face free of all emotions.

"You are to go back to your room, wake up the rest of your roommates and you are going to get them to come to the staffroom with you. You will tell them if they ask you where you've been that you've been practising fire spells," Mistress Broomhead ordered, "When you arrive you will knock three times, loudly."

"Yes Mistress Broomhead," Constance said, before folding her arms and materialising from the room.

Constance appeared in the middle of the room, awaking Amelia instantly. Imogen woke up when Constance made a bright light appear.

"Constance! You're back!" shouted Imogen.

"Where have you been?" asked Amelia.

"I was practising fire spells," Constance said.

"After what happened last time?" Davina said, smiling in her bed. She pushed herself up and brushed her messy hair out of her face.

"The result only ended in a few burns. I was distracted by Amelia," Constance said.

Lavinia stirred slightly. Constance rolled her eyes, she wasn't being particularly quiet. She flicked her wrist, and a cool breeze hit Lavinia, waking her up. Lavinia sat and stared, letting her eyes adjust.

"Oh hello Constance," Lavinia yawned, "Why are you waking us up now?"

"Mistress Broomhead has requested to see all of us," Constance explained, "And we shall go,"

Constance materialised them all out of the room, leaving an empty chill in the air.


	16. Chapter 17

**_Author's Note:_** **_Apologies for the long wait_** **_and thank you to all the wonderful people whom have reviewed this work so far. To all whom are still reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please make sure you review. All criticism greatly appreciated._**

They materialised outside the staffroom office door. Constance took a deep, shaky breath. Amelia's comforting hand was gently placed on her shoulder; Constance flinched slightly at the unexpected contact. Taking in a deep breath, Constance knocked on the door, three times sharply. The door magically swung open and revealed the extended, luxurious staffroom.

"If we'd have done this before all this, we'd be in heaven right now, or you would be Constance," Davina yelled overenthusiastically.

"What do you mean by that, Davina?" Constance asked, still unaware of how long she'd been in the cupboard. It could have been two minutes, or it could have been hours.

"Well, we all know that you rarely go to sleep, you live on that Wide Awake stuff," At Davina's mention of her wonderful, life-saving potion, Constance yawned, a rare yawn that had not occurred since the first drop of Wide Awake Potion had been swallowed from when she'd first met Mistress Broomhead.

"First time I've ever seen you yawn Constance, in all the years I've known you," Amelia said.

"Girls! Stop gossiping and enter! Constance, remember what I told you. A tired witch makes a dangerous witch. Take the potion, or you know what the consequences will be," Mistress Broomhead snapped. Constance remained looking up but avoided eye contact with Mistress Broomhead.

"Yes Mistress Broomhead," Constance said, with no emotion in her voice.

The girls entered the staffroom. Lavinia had only been in there once, and there had been a huge turn around. The room now had a fully-functioning red carpet, with a large red sofa. They had a large bookshelf fully equipped with the most modern spell and potion books, ranging from basic spells and potions to one's that were so dark they were sure to leave the person on the recieving end with a long, torturous death. In a small corner, there was a pile of old, unstylish items. Amelia gasped when she saw their mugs messily flung onto the pile.

Davina felt tears building up in her throat. The stationary cupboard - her stationary

"Amelia, instead of attending Spells class tomorrow, you will tidy out your office. Imogen, you will miss P.E., as I believe you are already perfect at it, or that's what I've told Miss MacHighfall, tidying the trash out of your old bedroom. Davina and Lavinia will miss Chanting, although I think that is a highly regrettable choice. I have seen your room Davina and you will most certainly require Lavinia's help. You shall all take those items back now," Mistress Broomhead demanded.

"What do you require me to do, Mistress Broomhead?" Constance asked, feeling left out. Everyone else had already been excused from one lesson, the one they taught. They had Potions tomorrow, and after being forced to work with Mildred, she didn't really feel like doing it.

"You, Constance Hardbroom, are not perfect in any subject yet, and you cannot afford to miss a lesson. You shall attend every lesson or you know what I'll do," Mistress Broomhead spat. This made all of Constance's confidence go, and she looked at the floor.

"I disagree with that, Mistress Broomhead. I've seen Constance's potion work on numerous occasions and it is always faultless," Imogen said. Constance looked up at Imogen, acknowledging that Imogen was being braver than she could ever be.

"Because, Imogen Drill, Constance's partner is not perfect at Potions. In fact, Mildred Hubble isn't very good at anything. Until Mildred becomes as good at Potions as Constance, Constance cannot afford to miss any lessons," Mistress Broomhead barked. Before another word could be said, Constance vanished, along with the pile of items in the corner, leaving all her friends behind.

xxx

Mildred couldn't sleep. Everything was making a noise. She'd lost the usual quiet noise of her bats Winky, Blinky and Nod. That'd been replaced by Ethel's loud snoring and Drusilla's clock ticking. Mildred knew what the issue was. She was worrying. Worrying about Broomhead, worrying about her bats, mainly because she guessed Broomhead didn't like bats. She was possibly scared of them. One flew past Broomhead in the corridor earlier, and she jumped a mile. She started cursing quite loudly, and gave Mildred a nasty glare. But she was mainly worrying about Constance. What Broomhead had said in her personal session made her worry. And she shouldn't be worrying about it. Without realising that it was occurring, Mildred's eye's grew extremely heavy, and the temptation of sleep soon took over

xxx

"Constance? Are you in there?" Amelia asked, lightly knocking on the door.

"You can just walk in there," Imogen said.

"I know," Amelia said, "It's just, the door is locked."

Everyone looked at Amelia confused. The door had no keyhole, nor was there anywhere to hide one. Constance had never said her door was locked, but Amelia had only opened the door once, and Constance had been in the room.

Imogen tried to open it, but she just couldn't. It was like the door had been sealed by a spell which Constance knew how to activate and deactivate. It was hidden. It was like someone had glued the door shut, and they were determined that no one was to come in and out.

"What do you mean it's locked?" Davina loudly yelled down the corridor, "Why didn't she unlock it?"

"Don't ask me, I'm new here!" Lavinia yelled, louder than Davina.

A few whispers could be heard coming from the rooms on the second year corridor. Enid, Maud Ruby and Jadu came out of their room, yawning.

"What's going on?" asked Ruby, clearly still very tired, as her eyes were slowly but surely closing.

"What time is it to be making all this noise?" Ethel asked, walking out of her room with Drusilla and Mildred following behind.

"We think Constance has locked the door and has walked off," Imogen said, replying to Ruby's question.

"What on earth is going on out here?" Mistress Broomhead demanded, walking down the corridor with Constance behind her.

"We think that Constance has locked the door Mistress Broomhead, and now we can't get in," Amelia said, ashamed that she felt she had to say something that might get Constance into trouble.

"Is this true girl? Have you locked this door?" Mistress Broomhead snapped.

"No Mistress Broomhead, look," Constance walked over to the door and opened it with ease.

"Everyone bar Constance is in detention tomorrow night for leaving your beds. You four," Mistress Broomhead pointed at Imogen, Amelia, Lavinia and Davina, "are in detention all week for making such an appalling spectacle of yourself. Now get to bed!" Mistress Broomhead vanished, leaving the girls to enter their rooms.

xxx

"I know that door was locked Constance Hardbroom, so you might as well go ahead and admit it!" Imogen yelled, angry that Constance had let them all get into trouble.

"Look, I didn't realise it was locked until it was way too late," Constance said.

"So you're admitting now that you locked the door? Where's the keyhole, and I want the key!" Imogen yelled. She was fuming. Constance was still acting like nothing was happening, when everything was happening.

"Well, you're just going to take my hand then, aren't you?" Constance yelled at Imogen. She hated that Imogen was determined to think it happened on purpose.

"Fine then, I'll just take your..."

"It's a spell that locks a door without one even requiring a key to unlock it. Repeat after me: Doorus locks, handus printus, keyus unlockiatus," Imogen got her hands ready, excited to cast her first spell, "Oh, sorry, not you Imogen, the spell's way to advance for someone who was not born with witchcraft in their blood."

"Then how am I meant to get in?" Imogen demanded, annoyed that Constance didn't think she was capable. In anger, Imogen stormed out of the room. Just as Amelia was about to chase after her, a soft, cold hand was firmly placed on her shoulder, making her feel like she was trapped in the room. At that moment, Amelia finally learned what life felt like for a girl at Cackles.


End file.
